College Experiences That Helped an Independent Strategy Consultant Succeed
Michael's success as a Senior Strategy & Leadership Consultant stems from a strong emphasis on networking, believing "it's not what you know, who you know," with mentors cultivated during college remaining valuable resources throughout his career. This networking provided not only access to knowledge and experience but also clients through word-of-mouth referrals.
Networking, Mentorship, Communication, Teamwork, Leadership
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Michael Acosta
Senior Strategy & Leadership Consultant
Independent Consulting Firm
Santa Monica College, Penn State, UCLA 2019
Pepperdine University Masters in Business and Leadership
Business Management & Admin
Consulting & Related Professional Services
Consulting
Disabled, Honors Student, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Veteran, Transfer Student
Video Highlights
1. Networking is crucial for success, especially in consulting. Building relationships with professors and turning them into mentors provides ongoing support and access to valuable connections.
2. Knowing when to ask for help and leverage the expertise of your team or mentors is essential. It's about collaboration and knowing you don't have to know everything.
3. Word-of-mouth referrals and strong relationships built through networking lead to new clients and opportunities. Building a strong professional network is paramount to career success
Transcript
Michael, taking you back to your time at Santa Monica College. What did you do in undergrad that set you up for success in your career?
This is a great question, very important. I touched on a few of these things beforehand, but what set me up for success, and what will always set you up for success in school or out of school, is networking.
Especially as a consultant or in any field you're in, networking is important, right? It goes back to the old saying: "It's not what you know, who you know." Well, who you know gets you in the door, but what you know keeps you there.
So, what set me up for success was my ability to network and to keep my teachers close. A few of my teachers actually became mentors to me that I can still call and reach out to today. They went to some pretty prominent schools.
You know, that's part of not always needing to know the answer because I have a team, and somewhere in that team, somebody knows the answer. My mentor, my champion, my colleagues – you know, that’s part of networking too.
You network to get these people. You network to get people who have more experience, more knowledge than you. There’s always somebody out there that’s going to have more knowledge than you or an experience that you didn’t have. It’s good to collect on these different things.
Networking also brings you clients, you know, word of mouth, things like that. So, really the main thing for success in my career, I believe, not just this one, is your ability to network and to get along with others.
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